Woman dies after four-hour ambulance wait in Scotland
A woman died after waiting four hours for an ambulance in Scotland, with new figures revealing long handover delays at hospitals.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A woman has died after waiting nearly four hours for an ambulance in Scotland, prompting her brother to say that animals would be treated better than his sister. Julie, who was found by police after collapsing at home in Kilmarnock last month, waited almost four hours for paramedics to arrive. She suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance on the way to Crosshouse Hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
New figures obtained by the Scottish Labour Party show that ambulances across the country are being forced to wait outside hospitals for hours, often while carrying patients in need of urgent medical attention. Some ambulances have been waiting up to 18 hours before they can be redeployed, with handover delays caused by a lack of available beds in hospitals.
The Scottish Ambulance Service apologised to the family, stating that on 22 June the service was under significant pressure due to lengthy hospital turnaround times at University Hospital Crosshouse, including delays of over six hours. It said these delays prevent crews from getting back on the road to treat other patients, and that it continues to work with NHS Ayrshire and Arran to address extended turnaround times. A full review into the circumstances surrounding the incident will be undertaken.
Scotland's Health Secretary described the wait as unacceptable and said a plan is being introduced to address the issue. She said her thoughts are with Julie's family and that she takes her responsibility to get answers for them extremely seriously. However, Julie's brother William said he would rather the government admit blame for his sister's death. When asked if that would make a difference, he replied, 'Yes, but I don't want somebody to hurt them.'
Long wait times for ambulances are a challenge across all four nations of the UK, often caused by handover delays at hospitals. The family say help came too late to save Julie's life.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 |
|---|---|
| A woman died after waiting nearly four hours for an ambulance in Scotland. | |
| New figures from the Scottish Labour Party show ambulances waiting outside hospitals for up to 18 hours. | |
| The Scottish Ambulance Service apologised and said the delay was due to lengthy hospital turnaround times. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report focuses on the human impact of ambulance delays through the personal story of Julie and her brother William. It uses emotional language and direct quotes from the brother to highlight the perceived failure of the system, while also presenting official responses from the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Health Secretary. The tone is sympathetic to the family and critical of the delays.
- “We wouldn't treat animals like that animals would get treated better than that these are human beings these are people's family family members who are lying there like nothing nothing so devastated absolutely devastated”
- “I'd rather we put our hands up and say look, we as a government are sort of your sister's death we are to blame for your sister's death Would that make a difference to you? Yes, but I don't want somebody to hurt them”
Broadcast Timeline
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